Break time?

Brock McFarland, Kegan Comer, Scott Schwieterman, Tyler Back and Darren Bogenschutz have a chance to make their Senior Night one of the most special in school history.
They can set the Jay County High School record for best regular-season winning percentage with a win over Bellmont on Friday. They can tie marks for most wins in a single season and longest winning streak.
And McFarland can cement his place in JCHS history as the school’s all-time leading scorer.
After scoring 14 points in Tuesday’s win over Norwell, he is just 10 away from breaking the record of 1,155 points set by 1993 graduate Dan Ferrell.
“It feels great,” said McFarland of the historic opportunity. “Looking back, I never would have thought that I’d be even close to where I am now. I kind of haven’t grasped the whole thing yet.”
McFarland, who is averaging 18 points per game this season, has been a starter for the Patriots since the moment he walked onto the high school floor. He was just the sixth player in JCHS history to start the season opener during his freshman season.
He averaged 6.7 points per game that year before stepping into a much larger role as a sophomore.
One of his career highlights came during that season when Jay County met up with host Huntington North in the opening round of the sectional tournament. The Patriots trailed by 10 in the second half, but rallied all the way back with McFarland hitting the game-tying lay-up with 1.2 seconds left.
“I’m still shaking,” said McFarland after that game, which JCHS won by five in overtime. “That was probably the most fun game I’ve ever played in my whole life.”
Jay County went on to beat Homestead and Fort Wayne South Side to win its first Class 4A sectional title.
McFarland hit his career high with 34 points against Wayne last season as he helped lead the Patriots to an 18-4 mark as they set the school record for best regular-season winning percentage, a mark they could break Friday. That squad also set the school mark for defensive points allowed, giving up just 35 per game.
In addition to all of the team milestones this season, McFarland became just the second player in school history to break the 1,000-point barrier. He reached that milestone early in the second half of a win Jan. 18 over Winchester.
“In Indiana high school basketball to be a 1,000-point scorer is a huge deal,” said JCHS coach Craig Teagle. “To be the leading scorer in your schools history makes that deal even bigger.
“I think the thing that’s been most impressive about (McFarland) is how he’s advanced as a complete player. Every year he got better defensively. He’s a really good rebounder. He got better at delivering the ball to the open guy. … That’s what’s made him so valuable, not just that he can score but that he’s a complete basketball player on both ends of the floor.”
Ferrell broke Mark McEwen’s scoring record of 959 points with a 29-point effort in a 76-63 loss to Anderson Highland in January of 1993.
He added 34 points later in the season in a win over Huntington North, and hit the game-winning shot in a 42-39 sectional semifinal victory over Wapahani.
His career came to an end in the next game, a 72-56 loss to Delta in the sectional championship game.
Ferrell continued his outstanding senior season by leading JCHS to sectional and regional championships in baseball. The left-handed pitcher went on to play at Indiana University and was drafted by the Florida Marlins before retiring from baseball in 1997.
McFarland has felt pressure as he closes in on Ferrell’s record, but also said the experience has been fun because of the team success he and the rest of the Patriots have had together. And he knows he wouldn’t be on the verge of history without them.
“I’ve just got to give thanks to all the teammates and the coaches,” McFarland said. “That’s the main thing. I know it’s an individual record, but it really is a team record more than anything. Without my teammates and coaches, I wouldn’t be anywhere close to where I am.
“You can’t do any of it by yourself. I’m just so grateful for everybody.”[[In-content Ad]]